Import/Export Price Indexes

U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes News Release

Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until USDL-13-1836
8:30 a.m. (EDT) Thursday, September 12, 2013
Technical information: (202) 691-7101 * MXPinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/mxp
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
U.S. IMPORT AND EXPORT PRICE INDEXES - AUGUST 2013
Prices for U.S. imports were unchanged in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, after
ticking up 0.1 percent in July. In August, higher fuel prices were offset by declining nonfuel prices. U.S.
export prices fell 0.5 percent in August following a 0.1 percent decrease the previous month.
Imports
All Imports: Import prices have recorded little change the past 2 months, after decreasing 1.8 percent over
the prior 4 months. The recent decline contributed to a 0.4 percent drop in import prices for the year ended
in August. The decrease from August 2012 to August 2013 was led by lower nonfuel prices, which more
than offset higher fuel prices.
Fuel Imports: The price index for import fuel rose 0.5 percent in August, after advancing 1.8 percent in
July. The increases for both months were led by rising petroleum prices, which advanced 0.8 percent in
August and 2.7 percent in July. In contrast, natural gas prices fell 9.0 percent in August, after decreasing
22.2 percent the previous month. Overall fuel prices advanced 2.2 percent over the past 12 months, as the
price indexes for both petroleum and natural gas rose from August 2012 to August 2013, advancing 1.9
percent and 13.8 percent, respectively.
All Imports Excluding Fuel: Prices for nonfuel imports continued to trend down in August, falling 0.2
percent. The August decrease followed a 0.4 percent drop in July, and was the sixth consecutive monthly
decline. Falling prices for nonfuel industrial supplies and materials and finished goods drove the August
drop in nonfuel import prices. The price index for nonfuel imports also decreased over the past year,
declining 1.0 percent.
Table A. Import and export price indexes, selected categories
Percent changes

Exports
All Exports: Prices for U.S. exports continued to trend down in August, decreasing 0.5 percent. The index
for overall export prices has not recorded a monthly advance since a 0.7 percent increase in February. Lower
prices for both agricultural and nonagricultural exports contributed to the August decline. Overall export
prices fell 1.1 percent for the year ended in August, the largest 12-month drop since the index decreased 1.3
percent between July 2011 and July 2012.
Agricultural Exports: The price index for agricultural exports declined 4.3 percent in August, the largest
monthly decrease since the index fell 6.5 percent in October 2011. A 15.9 percent decrease in soybean prices
and a 14.5 percent drop in corn prices drove the August decline in agricultural prices. Prices for agricultural
exports fell 5.7 percent over the past 12 months, the first year-over-year decline in export agricultural prices
since the index fell 5.8 percent for the year ended in June 2012. Lower soybean and corn prices also were
the primary contributors to the decline in agricultural prices over the past year.
All Exports Excluding Agriculture: Nonagricultural export prices edged down 0.1 percent in August
following a 0.2 percent decline for the previous month. Falling finished goods prices more than offset an
increase in the price index for nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials. The price index for
nonagricultural exports decreased 0.6 percent over the past 12 months, led by lower prices for
nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials and consumer goods.
SELECTED AUGUST HIGHLIGHTS
Import Prices
Imports by Locality of Origin: Import prices from Japan edged down 0.1 percent in August, after
declining 0.5 percent in July. Prices for imports from Japan decreased 2.6 percent over the past 12 months,
paralleling the decline in the value of the yen relative to the U.S. dollar. The 12-month decrease for August
was the largest year-over-year drop in the index since a 2.9 percent decline for the year ended in November
2002. Prices for imports from the European Union also fell 0.1 percent in August. The price index for
imports from China recorded no change for the third consecutive month in August. Import prices from
China have not increased on a monthly basis since a 0.1 percent advance in February 2012, and fell 1.3
percent over the past year. Prices for imports from Canada also were unchanged in August, following a 0.1
percent decline the previous month. In contrast, import prices from Mexico rose 0.3 percent in August.
Nonfuel Industrial Supplies and Materials: Nonfuel industrial supplies and materials prices fell 0.8 percent
in August following a 1.7 percent decline the previous month. Decreasing metals prices were the largest
contributor to the drop in both August and July.
Finished Goods: Prices for each of the major finished goods categories edged down 0.1 percent in August.
Capital goods prices have not recorded a monthly increase since the index rose 0.2 percent in September
2012, and fell 0.8 percent over the past year. Prices for automotive vehicles also continued a downward
trend over the past 5 months as the index decreased 1.4 percent between February and August. The 0.1
percent decline in consumer goods prices in August followed a 0.2 percent decrease in July.
Foods, Feeds, and Beverages: Prices for foods, feeds, and beverages rose 0.3 percent in August, after a 0.6
percent advance the previous month. The increase was led by a 2.8 percent rise in fish and shellfish prices,
which more than offset a 4.4 percent decline in vegetable prices.
Transportation Services: Import air passenger fares declined for the second consecutive month, falling 7.9
percent in August following a 3.9 percent drop in July. The decreases for both months were driven by lower
European and Asian fares. The index for import air passenger fares fell 0.5 percent over the past year. Import
air freight prices fell 0.3 percent in August and 0.8 percent over the past 12 months.
Export Prices
Nonagricultural Industrial Supplies and Materials: Nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials
prices rose 0.2 percent in August, after declining 0.6 percent in July as higher fuel prices more than offset
lower metals prices.
Finished Goods: Prices for each of the major finished goods areas decreased in August. Consumer goods
prices fell 0.6 percent, the largest monthly drop since a similar decline in July 2012. The price indexes for
capital goods and automotive vehicles each edged down 0.1 percent.
Transportation Services: Export air passenger fares increased 2.6 percent for the second consecutive month
in August. The August increase was driven by a 24.7 percent advance in Asian fares. Despite the recent
increases, export air passenger fares fell 4.9 percent for the year ended in August. Export air freight prices
were unchanged in August and up 2.1 percent over the past year.
Import and Export Price Index data for September 2013 are scheduled for release on Thursday,
October 10, 2013 at 8:30 a.m. (EDT).

Table 1. U.S. import price indexes and percent changes for selected categories of goods: August 2012 to August 2013

Footnotes(1) Relative importance figures are based on 2011 trade values.

NOTES: Data may be revised in each of the three months after original publication.
Dash = Not available

TECHNICAL NOTE
Import and Export Merchandise and Services Price Indexes -- All indexes use a modified Laspeyres
formula and are not seasonally adjusted. Price indexes are reweighted annually, with a two-year lag in
the weights. Published series use a base year of 2000=100 where possible. More detailed index series
and additional information may be obtained at http://www.bls.gov/mxp, or by calling (202) 691-7101.
Merchandise Goods Classification Systems -- The merchandise price indexes are published using
three classification systems. Items are classified by end use according to the Bureau of Economic
Analysis Classification System, by industry according to the North American Industry Classification
System (NAICS), and by product category according to the Harmonized System (HS). While
classification by end use and product category are self-explanatory, some notes are in order for
classifying items by industry. In the NAICS imports and exports tables, items are classified by output
industry, not input industry. As an example, NAICS import index 326 (plastics and rubber products
manufacturing) include outputs such as manufactured plastic rather than inputs such as petroleum. The
NAICS classification structure also matches the classification system used by the PPI (Producer Price
Index) to produce the NAICS primary products indexes.
Import Price Indexes -- Products have been classified by the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United
States Annotated (TSUSA). Import prices are based on U.S. dollar prices paid by the U.S. importer.
The prices are generally either "free on board" (f.o.b.) foreign port or "cost, insurance, and freight"
(c.i.f.) U.S. port transaction prices, depending on the practices of the individual industry. The index for
crude petroleum is calculated from data collected by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Export Price Indexes -- Products have been classified by the Harmonized Schedule B classification
system of the U.S. Bureau of the Census. The prices used are generally either "free alongside ship"
(f.a.s.) factory or "free on board" (f.o.b.) transaction prices, depending on the practices of the individual
industry. Prices used in the grain index, excluding rice, are obtained from the U.S. Department of
Agriculture.
Services Price Indexes -- Starting in September 2008 the Import Air Passenger Fares Indexes represent
changes in the average revenue per passenger received by foreign carriers from U.S. residents and are
calculated from data obtained from an airline consulting service. These data include tickets sold by
travel agencies and travel websites. Tickets sold directly by the airlines are excluded, as are frequent
flyer tickets generally. Starting in January 2008 the Export Air Passenger Fares Indexes represent
changes in the average revenue per passenger received by U.S. carriers from foreign residents and are
calculated from data collected directly from airlines. These data include frequent flyer tickets and those
sold by consolidators. Taxes and fees are included in the Import Air Passenger Fares Index and excluded
from the Export Air Passenger Fares Index. The Air Freight Indexes are calculated from data collected
directly from airlines. These data exclude mail and passenger baggage. The scope of the service being
priced is the movement of freight from airport to airport only, and does not include any ground
transportation or port service. The Air Freight Indexes are presented using two definitions: Balance of
Payments (which represent transactions between U.S. and foreign residents) and International (which
represent transactions inbound to and outbound from the U.S.). Fact sheets specifying detailed
information for each services industry are available at http://www.bls.gov/mxp under "MXP
Publications."
Import Indexes by Locality of Origin -- Prices used in these indexes are a subset of the data collected
for the Import Price Indexes. Beginning with January 2002, the indexes are defined by locality of origin
using a nomenclature based upon the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).
Nonmanufactured goods are defined as NAICS 11 and 21 and manufactured goods are defined as
NAICS 31-33.
Revision Policy -- To reflect the availability of late reports and corrections by respondents, monthly data
may be revised in each of the three months after original publication. After three months, no further data
revisions take place. So, for example, data released in the January release will be subject to revision in
the releases for February, March, and April.
Uses of the Data -- The primary use of the indexes is to deflate trade statistics, notably the foreign trade
sector of the National Income and Product Accounts constructed by the Department of Commerce.
Other published indexes are useful for general market analysis. For trade in international services,
Balance of Payments indexes are used for deflating National Income and Product Accounts, while
International indexes are more appropriate for market analysis. Merchandise and services indexes also
can be used to study U.S. competitiveness and to compute price elasticities, and the merchandise import
indexes by country or region of origin are useful in terms of trade analysis.
E-Mail Subscription -- The U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes news release is available through an
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Additional Information -- More detailed data are available on the Import/Export Price Indexes home
page at (http://www.bls.gov/mxp). Flat Files and the FTP server are available for users requiring access
to either a large volume of time series data or other related documentation. The FTP site can be accessed
at ftp://ftp.bls.gov. For technical assistance in using the BLS Internet site, send e-mail to
(labstat.helpdesk@bls.gov). For Import/Export Price Index data requests, send e-mail to
(mxpinfo@bls.gov).
Information from this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request.
Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339.